


Contemplations on a Full Bladder

by biggestdisappointmentinwarfare



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Multi, Polyamory, sleepy characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 08:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8197427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biggestdisappointmentinwarfare/pseuds/biggestdisappointmentinwarfare
Summary: Kaidan thinks he's the luckiest man in the universe, being in a relationship with two of the most impressive people he ever had the privilege to meet. There is only one thing standing in his way to true happiness.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This work has been written in honor of Mass Effect Poly Week! I combined the two things I wanted from my last/current playthrough of the ME-series in one nifty fic! A better understanding of the romance between Shepard and Kaidan and to romance Miranda with my female Shepard (which is not possibly, sadly). 
> 
> A big thank you to my Beta, [Mordinette](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mordinette), who is such a cool kid. She'll deny her awesomeness, but honestly don't believe her, because she is!

Unable to fall asleep again, Kaidan lay on his back, arms wrapped around two sleeping women. In his opinion, the two of the most wonderful and brilliant people in the universe. How did it happen, that he of all people, had become so lucky? It had been a long road, but he didn’t want to trade it for anything.

 

Shepard and he had been tense ever since he'd run into her on Horizon. This wasn’t softened by their reunion after the Citadel coup. Especially not when she told him that she loved him, but also had fallen in love with someone else. Coping with Shepard’s death and living on had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Imagining his life with someone else, nearly impossible. That she had been able to move on that quickly had hurt, and to be honest, hard to understand. That was, of course, before he had met Miranda.

On Horizon, when they came to investigate Sanctuary, somehow everything came together again. He saw the dedication that Miranda had in righting the wrongs of Cerberus. He saw the energy of her compassion towards humans and her unforgiving attitude towards people who proved time and time again to be scum. Her relentless perfectionism caught his eye and made him curious. He understood Shepard’s feelings a bit better after that incident. Unfortunately, there was no time to get to know the woman who had stolen the heart of his commander. They had a universe to save.

Shepard had always been very honest and clear in what she wanted, or rather not wanted. She said that both he and Miranda had a place in the deepest part of her heart. She did not want to continue in any sort relationship beyond that of friendly professionalism before they had all sat around and talked about it. But there was just not enough time. The Catalyst happened and Kaidan needed six months to return back to Earth with the _Normandy_ and her crew, worrying if he ever would get the chance to see her again, and not even knowing if she was still alive.

Shepard survived, and Miranda had been at her side almost the entire time. When Kaidan found out, he almost buckled under the weight of jealousy. But it all faded when he came to the hospital, where Shepard still lay in a coma. Miranda sat in the room behind a desk, working. The room was a mess, there were datapads, abandoned coffee mugs, clothes, and sheets of paper everywhere. It seemed like Miranda rarely left the room. She looked nothing like the woman he'd met on Horizon, twice. She stood when he entered, a small but tired smile on her face.

“So, I guess you want an update?” Miranda didn’t say hi or made any attempt to come closer, but offered him one of the two chairs that were currently not being used by other stuff. She was not going to waste time talking to him.

“Yeah…” Kaidan sat down and rubbed his forehead. “How is she?”

“She was found by Alliance brass, barely conscious. A lot of internal bleeding, puncture wounds, broken bones, and extensive burn wounds. We decided to induce a coma and kept her in it for five months. Now we’re waiting for her to wake up on her own.” Miranda sounded like she had given the same report over and over. It left her anxious, he could see it in the way the corner of her mouth twitched.

“We?”

“I was responsible for Project Lazarus after… you know, Alchera. And the knowledge that I accumulated then, proved invaluable now.” Miranda sighed as she looked over at Shepard’s still body. The tension was leaving her body for a bit, if ever so slightly. After a short pause she continued, “She was very clear from the beginning, you know. She had feelings that she did not hide. Very unapologetic.” She chuckled.

“I know. She said life’s too short to regret loving someone.” For the first time in months, there was a small smile creeping on Kaidan’s face, he could feel it. It wasn’t entirely voluntary.

“Despite being angry with you, for which I can’t blame her, she was very clear that she wanted to at least sit around the table with you. I agreed because I don’t understand what she sees in me anyway.”

“Funny, I never understood what she sees in me.”

They sat together in uncomfortable silence for a while, neither of them looking at each other, until Miranda suddenly spoke up. “The waiting is the worst. There is little I can do now except just sit here.” She looked over at Shepard, still avoiding Kaidan, who almost jumped out of his chair by her sudden confession. “I’ve gone over every calculation, every action, to see if we could have done something better. It’s just…” She started to choke up.

Kaidan’s mind began to work overtime to prevent her from breaking down. He most certainly did not know how to console distraught women. “I’m sure you did everything you could. I just wish I had been here too. It seems unfair that you got to spend all this time with her. But now… now I’m not so sure anymore. I see how you’re beating yourself up. I’ve been like that too, you know, after…” He was making large arm gestures, hoping he didn’t babble too much.

“Thanks, but I know that if I’m not doing the very best I can, plus ten percent, this is all going to be for nothing.” It seemed like his words had only awakened her self-doubt, not calmed her down.

“You’re allowed to take a break every once in a while. How about we go out for lunch tomorrow? Get to know each other?” Kaidan did not know why he suddenly felt the need to help lighten her burden. “It’s what Shepard would have wanted.”

“Why not here and now?” Miranda’s reply had been fast and sharp. That was not what he had in mind. 

“Well, umm…” He hadn't come this far to not even see Shepard for a bit. “I’d like to spend some time alone with Lin, if I may.” Kaidan looked at Miranda with the best sad puppy eyes he could muster. “Please, let us go tomorrow.”

“Fine. You can get half an hour. And tomorrow we get lunch at twelve thirty sharp. But we can’t leave the hospital. If there are any changes, I need to get back ASAP.”

“Getting you out of this room and talking about something else is all I ask,” he said, but Miranda had left the room already.

 

The weeks that followed were… different. He was confronted with the consequences of his actions, what he'd missed when he hadn't been at Shepard’s side, both when she was fighting the Collectors and when she was in the hospital. It hurt, seeing how his decision on Horizon had influenced Shepard so much in the coming years. It was also liberating, learning how similar their struggles had been. Miranda told him about herself, her love for Shepard and her sister, and he returned the favor and talked about Brain Camp, the time they were chasing Saren, how he'd dealt with Shepard’s death and revival. Time flew by as, in a couple of short weeks, they learnt so much about each other.

Shepard woke the third week Kaidan was back. Recovery was slow and filled with challenges. The three of them sat together quite soon after Shepard had woken and the talk was actually fairly easy. Kaidan’s reservation and jealousy for the ex-Cerberus employee had melted away and Miranda’s anger and coolness at Kaidan’s reluctance had slowly dissipated. Shepard couldn’t have been happier about it. They agreed that they both wanted to continue the relationship with Shepard. They could live with sharing her, but were not too keen on starting something between the two of them. Shepard had told them that there was no rush and if it never happened that was fine too. She first had to get out of the hospital and she would need both of them to make it work. The three of them spent a lot of time together during Shepard’s rehabilitation and somewhere along the way Kaidan and Miranda had also found each other.

Tension had been high, Shepard had had one of her tantrums and had refused to cooperate with Miranda and the doctor. Miranda’s frustration resulted in seeking out Kaidan for some good old venting and comfort. The embrace had turned into a heated kiss, interrupted by Shepard in a wheelchair with a smug look on her face. They quickly released each other, both beet red. They could have sworn that Shepard had muttered “Finally!” under her breath. But she would never admit to anything.

 

Right now, Miranda and Lin were sleeping, both using Kaidan as a pillow, and life couldn’t have been better. Shepard still needed physical therapy, but she could function more or less alone. They shared an apartment already. Shepard had been reluctant, but both Kaidan and Miranda had insisted. She needed the help and they could provide it.

Shepard snorted a bit in her sleep and grabbed Kaidan a bit tighter around the waist. Kaidan stroke Miranda’s hair while she slept. She looked more like the woman he'd met on Horizon that first time. More alive somehow.

He couldn’t have been happier with where he was in his life, were it not for the fact that he had to pee. It was the only reason he was awake this early. But his position didn’t allow for an unnoticed escape; moving meant waking both women. He sighed and started to untangle himself carefully from them until he heard a double and sleepy “Where're you going?” and broke into a sprint to the bathroom, hoping that waking them up would be better if it went like removing an adhesive bandage.


End file.
